


First Encounter

by ericsonclan



Series: Spiderverse AU [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, Spiders, Terrorism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:08:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27251710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Clementine is with her little brother A.J. at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade when disaster strikes.
Series: Spiderverse AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1989784
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

“Look, Clem! It’s Spongebob!” A.J. exclaimed from his place on his sister’s shoulders. He pointed up to the massive yellow balloon in the shape of the beloved sponge as it hovered through the street as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day.

“That’s right,” Clementine smiled at her little brother’s excitement. It was a shame their dad hadn’t been able to make it, laid low by a cold the day before. Usually A.J. sat upon his shoulders and that gave him a much better view than Clementine’s diminutive 5’2” height could lend him. As Spongebob floated away and A.J. waved his goodbye, Tom Turkey, the giant animatronic bird, approached on his float, signaling they had almost reached the end of the parade. Clementine wondered what they should do for dinner. Maybe they could stop by someplace with soup so she could bring some home to-

Suddenly the Spongebob balloon exploded in flames. Screams erupted from both sides of the street as the crowd attempted to flee from the massive collapsing balloon. Before anyone could figure out what was going on, Tom Turkey exploded, sending pieces of shrapnel flying everywhere.

Immediately Clementine pulled A.J. down from her shoulders, turning her back to the wreckage and shielding him with her body. The crowd around them was surging away from the explosions, forcing the siblings to blindly follow the stampede to avoid being trampled underfoot.

“What’s happening, Clem?” A.J. shouted, clinging tightly to her shoulders.

“I don’t know, kiddo! But don’t worry, I’ll get us out of here alright!” Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for some point of escape. Everything was chaos. Screaming and fire and flailing limbs… she just needed to get her and A.J. safely into a side street before they were crushed by flying debris or panicked civilians.

Suddenly the speakers that had previously been playing the soundtrack and announcements for the parade sputtered back to life. A menacing voice echoed across the frantic crowd. “Hello, New York. Congratulations on being the test site for my first major assault. I am Harbinger, and I am here to bring your doom,”

_ Of course the one time I’m out with A.J. on my own a lunatic takes over New York.  _ Clementine’s heart raced as her feet pounded against the pavement.

“Clem, behind you!”

A.J.’s voice caused Clementine to look back over her shoulder. Her heart dropped.

A squadron of drones was heading directly toward them, shooting tear gas and bullets into the crowd. Clementine could hear bodies dropping around her. She couldn’t risk looking back again to see if people had been killed. She had to get A.J. out of here.

Before she could get any farther though, the largest explosion yet hit, knocking Clementine off her feet and throwing her hard against the pavement. It felt like only a few seconds before Clementine groggily pulled herself to her feet. Her ears were ringing from the strength of the explosion. A.J. wasn’t beside her. She had to find him. Clementine’s feet were shaking underneath her, but she kept going. Something wet trickled down her face. As it hit her tongue, she realized it was blood, probably her own.  _ No time for that now. Where is A.J.? He needs to be OK. I won’t let anything happen- _

That’s when she spotted him. A.J. was standing before a towering figure, placing himself in between them and an injured girl who lay behind him, bleeding from her side. The figure appeared to be a cyborg, massive sections of her body replaced with metal and hardware. Her left arm was no longer an arm but a massive gun, smoke still rising from its barrels from the barrage of bullets it had rained down upon civilians. She looked at A.J. with bored disinterest, her cybernetic eye analyzing and scanning him before abruptly shutting off. Without hesitation, the woman levelled her gun at A.J.

Clementine could hear herself screaming. She could feel herself running forward. But everything seemed to be moving slower. She wasn’t far off. She could make it. But how could she hope to stop this monster?  _ Target any weaknesses,. That’s what Dad said each time he taught us self-defense.  _ The entire right side of the woman was made out of metal. There was only one point Clementine could target. Kicking her leg out, Clementine smashed her foot directly into the woman’s right knee.

The knee gave out from under the woman. Her balance thrown off, the woman crumpled to the ground, her gun-arm rising into the air and peppering the sky with bullets instead. Clementine only had seconds of ecstatic relief before the counterattack came. The woman’s left hand flew out and struck Clementine hard across the face. Clementine collapsed to the ground, the air knocked out of her by the force of the assault. A hand suddenly gripped her throat, lifting her up high into the air.

“Only a fool would target me,” The woman glared menacingly at Clementine, her robotic arm holding her up with ease. She glanced down at A.J. who had begun to kick her left leg with everything he had, his tiny hands curled in fists of rage.

“Let my sister go, you monster!”

A cold smirk crossed the woman’s lips as she looked back on Clementine. “Ah, so it was for familial love then?”

Clementine met the woman’s gaze steadily, her eyes hardened and jaw set. She wouldn’t let her see how terrified she was. She needed to buy time for A.J. to escape, draw the attention off of him and back to her.

“A fiery one. I like that. A shame you have no power to stop me,” The cyborg’s hand tightened round Clementine’s throat, blocking her windpipe. “Now let’s see how long it takes you to beg for your life, you-”

Her words were suddenly cut short when a white, gummy substance suddenly splotched across her mouth, effectively silencing her. A second later another shot struck, covering her eyes. Dropping Clementine, the woman reached out to remove the obstructions only for more shots to bind her hands to her face.

“Have no fear, the cavalry’s arrived!” a voice crowed. A moment later a hooded figure stood before them, hands on his hips. He was dressed head to toe in an evergreen, chestnut and black bodysuit covered in spiderweb designs, his mouth and nose covered by a mask while his eyes were hidden behind a reflective black pair of shield sunglasses.

A hooded female figure landed beside him, her webbed bodysuit primarily white, blue and gray. Her face was completely hidden behind a mask of the same material. “Let’s kick this fucker’s ass,”

Their foe had successfully removed the white substance from her eyes and mouth. She gave the pair a cold sneer. “Recluse, Wolf. At last you’ve arrived to face me,”

The male figure cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, uh, and who are you exactly?”

“I am Harbinger and my presence spells your doom,”

He placed a hand to his chin. “I’d give that slogan a solid 8 out of 10. A bit cheesy, but you delivered it with feeling,”

“Less talking, more fighting, Wolf!” the female figure cried before shooting webbing directly into Harbinger’s gun barrel, clogging it completely.

“Now that’s some sharpshooting! Good one, Recluse!” Wolf shot out a long strand of webbing, coating the villain in more and more of the substance.

Before she could be contained though, Harbinger raised her arm and transformed it into something else entirely. The clogged barrels were replaced by a massive knife arm, the blade gleaming in the morning light. It cut through the webbing with ease.

“Huh, that was unexpected,” Wolf seemed unfazed though. Webbing a strand onto a nearby building, he gave himself a running start to swing back into the air, preparing his next attack. Recluse meanwhile was observing their surroundings, making sure all civilians were out of range.

Clementine searched for A.J. He wouldn’t have run off without her. When she spotted him, her heart twisted in fear. He was hiding in the corner of a nearby alleyway, one with a dead end with no means of escape. The entrance was also blocked off by the fight going on between Harbinger, Wolf and Recluse right this instant. Clementine couldn’t give up though. She’d have to circle the perimeter and find an opening to run to A.J. before he tried to make a break for it himself and got caught in the fighting.

The fight was only beginning though. The drones that had been dispersed throughout the square now came to converge upon the heroes. Their metal exoskeletons looked surprisingly spiderlike as they flew toward the pair. The closest one was making a beeline for Wolf when all of a sudden it was caught by a web strand and thrown against a wall, smashing lifeless to the ground.

“I’ll take care of the drones!” Recluse declared, running forward. Webbing herself onto one of them, she landed on top of the flying drone, using her position to web other drones’ engines causing them to crash to the ground.

Harbinger’s arm raised once more, transforming back into a gun and aiming at Recluse.

“Hey! Eyes on me!” Wolf called, leaping down toward their adversary. He webbed a nearby trash can, flinging it against the cyborg’s back.

This only seemed to annoy Harbinger. She turned, aiming her gun at Wolf instead.

By the time she shot though, Wolf was long gone from that point. He had webbed Harbinger’s legs, swinging himself between them and webbing her in the face once more. “Fool you twice, shame on you!”

Harbinger let out an angry cry, punching blindly below her.

Wolf rolled aside just in the nick of time, a crumbled piece of concrete where his head had just been. “Holy canoli! I could use some backup here, Recluse!”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist! I’ll get there!” Recluse smashed a fist through the drone she had been on before leaping over to the next one, continuing to destroy each landing pad she used until the final drones were destroyed. She descended to the ground in a graceful tumble. “Let’s wrap this up,”

Clementine had been watching the fight unfold with each step she took, keeping out of harm’s way while moving ever closer to her goal. She could see A.J. clearly now, his body crouched as tightly as possible against a dumpster. “A.J.!” she called in a raised whisper, trying to get his attention.

He looked at her with large eyes. “Clem? You didn’t run away?”

“I couldn’t leave you, kiddo. Now c’mon, we gotta get out of here!” Taking her brother’s hand, Clementine slowly inched her way along the wall, hoping they could slip past unnoticed. Harbinger’s attack and the drones had torn up the square. They’d have to traverse the scattered rubble carefully.

“I can’t believe we get to see Wolf and Recluse fight up close and in person!” A.J. exclaimed excitedly. Now that he was with his sister, his fear seemed to have largely dissipated.

“It’s not safe to be here, A.J. We need to focus,” Clementine directed, making sure he was listening. Her eyes returned to the fight, making sure they remained a safe distance away. She’d heard rumors of spiderheroes appearing in New York about a year ago, similar to other vigilantes that had popped up in Chicago, Atlanta and other major cities these past few years, but she’d never paid that news much mind, figuring she’d never crossed paths with them. Despite appreciating their help, a part of her wished she still hadn’t.

Recluse had entered hand to hand combat with Harbinger. The shorter spiderhero was fast and agile, avoiding most of Harbinger’s attacks while landing plenty of her own. Unfortunately, since so much of Harbinger’s form was composed of cyborg parts, any attacks that landed against metal made virtually no damage. Wolf was circling the outer perimeter of the pair’s fight, providing blocks and support wherever Recluse needed it. Clementine felt as though something else was up his sleeve though. He kept casting webs in seemingly pointless directions, but they must form some sort of pattern…

“Ready!” Wolf called.

Recluse immediately responded to the signal, shooting a web over to a nearby lamp post and flying out of Harbinger’s rage.

Harbinger looked around in a moment of confusion before suddenly a barrage of web attacks came at her from all angles. She was enveloped in a cocoon of webs instantly, utterly silenced.

“Gets ‘em every time,” Wolf declared happily, dusting his hands off.

Recluse quickly swung back to stand beside him. “Alright, let’s roll her over to the proper authorities, then-”

An explosion cut Recluse’s words short. Clementine pinned A.J. to the wall, shielding him once more as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Harbinger’s laugh echoed across the square, maniacal in its intensity. “Fools! You think such a simple trap would hold me back from my goals?” The smell of burnt flesh hovered in the air. Clementine realized in horror what the cyborg had done: she’d set off a bomb to free herself from the confines of the web, not caring what damage was done to her remaining flesh.

A sudden clatter drew everyone’s attention. It had come from Clementine and A.J.’s direction. Distracted by the explosion, A.J. had knocked over a large chunk of concrete, sending it tumbling down the pile of rubble they’d been skirting.

“Shit, there are still civilians here?” Wolf shared a look with Recluse.

Immediately Recluse shot out a massive web, pinning Harbinger to the ground. Wolf shot a spider strand to the wall beside Clementine and A.J., landing beside them in seconds. “Hello, ma’am and hey, little dude,” He offered a quick wave down at A.J.’s level. “It would be my pleasure to escort you both to safety. Shall we?”

“Look out!” Recluse’s warning came only a split second before Harbinger’s attack. Transforming her arm yet again, she now had a pointed drill in its place. It shot through the air, extending her limb farther than any of her other forms had, straight for the three of them.

Standing in front of Clementine and A.J., Wolf spun his arms round and round each other, threads coalescing and hardening around his hands into a shinier white material than any of his previous attacks. As the drill drew near, he crossed his arms in an x before him, effectively blocking the attack as it bounced off the dense webbing. However, the redirection wasn’t quite enough. Clementine saw the tip of the weapon graze the side of Wolf’s face and heard something shatter. Immediately the drill withdrew, striking Recluse on the side of the head and knocking her over before transforming into a blade once more and cutting Harbinger free.

She immediately rose to her feet, a twisted smile on her face. “You haven’t seen the last of me, Wolf and Recluse. You or any of your kind!” A single drone flew out, hovering above Harbinger. She clung to it as it rose directly into the air, higher and higher until she had disappeared amongst the clouds.

“Well, points are due for the grand exit, I suppose,” Wolf turned round to check on Clementine and A.J. “Sorry I wasn’t able to get you two out of here before that last attack. Are you OK?”

“Are  _ you _ OK?” Clementine asked. Part of the lenses of his sunglasses had broken and she could see a brown eye peeking out from behind it. A slow trickle of blood was oozing from near his temple.

“What? Oh, this? Tis only a flesh wound, milady,” Wolf dramatically bowed before his eye widened in surprise. “Holy shit, did she get your arm?”

Clementine glanced down, knowing what he had seen. She quickly covered her forearm, looking away. “No, that’s… nothing. A dog bit me a long time ago. This is just an old scar,”

“Oh. Phew! Glad to see you two came out of this with only some scrapes and bruises then,” Wolf knelt down to A.J’s level, looking him in the eye. “Remember little man, always get somewhere safe if you’re in an emergency. You gotta protect your sister too, OK?”

A.J. nodded, a determined sparkle in his eye. “OK,”

Recluse landed beside them. “Well, there’s only so high New York’s buildings go. Harbinger may be in the stratosphere by now. Still, we should sweep the perimeter and-” She paused, noticing Wolf’s injury. “Fuck, did you break another pair? We have to find something better for eyegear,”

“Swear,” A.J. said calmly.

Recluse looked at him in confusion before the realization hit her. She turned to Clem. “Shit, I’m sorry about that. No, that’s a swear too. Umm…”

“It’s fine,” Clementine waved her hand dismissively. “Thank you so much for saving us. We might not have made it without you two,”

“Just doing our job,” Recluse mumbled, scratching the back of her head. “Anyways, we gotta go. C’mon, Wolf,”

“A pleasure meeting you,” Wolf said, offering Clementine a casual two fingered salute before soaring off into the sky with Recluse, the two of them swinging from building to building in search of their foe.

“That. Was. Awesome!!!” A.J. bounced around in excitement, doing a little happy dance. “I can’t wait to tell everyone in school I got to meet Wolf and Recluse in person!”

_ Man, kids bounce back from trauma fast. _ Clementine still felt a bit shaky on her feet herself. “Let’s get home, kiddo,” She reached in her pocket for her phone, immediately dialing her father’s number. He must be freaking out if he’d seen any live coverage of the attack. “Dad? Yeah, we’re OK. Me and A.J. both. We’re on our way home now. I’ll tell you more then, my battery’s almost dead. Love you,” Taking A.J.’s hand once more, Clementine made her way out of the square. Hopefully the metro was still open. What a crazy day. She was glad it was over. She never wanted to deal with something like that again.

  
  



End file.
